Qin Sizheng stared at Lu Xianqing lying on the ground, face deathly pale, completely stunned. His hand had moved too fast!
It was pure reflex—smooth, fluid, textbook self-defense. He’d almost crippled a lofty, untouchable beauty. He knew his own strength and technique. That throw was no joke. Even without broken bones, half his life had probably been shaved off.
Lu Xianqing was just as stunned. There was a brief blankness in his eyes as he lay there, a full two minutes before he could react. His head spun, his abdomen throbbed with pain. If this kid had followed up with another move, he might actually have been done for.
Qin Sizheng had been spacing out the whole time. After a long while, he stretched and let out a long yawn, clearly lost in thought. He didn’t even hear Little Tomato’s parents come to pick him up and say goodbye. It wasn’t until they rubbed Little Tomato’s head and told him, “Go home now. I’ll talk to Kite Dad for you,” that Little Tomato happily bounced off with his parents.
Lu Xianqing walked over and patted Qin Sizheng on the shoulder to snap him out of it. He hadn’t even gotten a word out before he was suddenly beaten up.
?
It took Qin Sizheng a long moment to react. Then he abruptly remembered that Lu Xianqing still had injuries on his back. Panicking, he hurriedly helped him up, only to see sweat already beading on his forehead.
“Fourth Brother, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. Are you… okay?” he asked cautiously. Seeing how pale the man’s face was, he almost couldn’t finish the question. How could he possibly be fine?
“Qin Sizheng,” Lu Xianqing said.
“Yes,” the boy answered immediately.
Lu Xianqing’s back was in agony. The bee venom probably hadn’t fully cleared yet; the sting’s lingering pain combined with that sudden slam was truly adding insult to injury. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “Are you addicted to hitting me now?”
“No…” Qin Sizheng fumbled helplessly, wanting to support him but not daring to. His hands opened and clenched over and over, nowhere to put them.
That cool hand on his neck earlier had instantly made him think of the “pervert” who’d sent him messages. He’d thought that person had suddenly shown up. His body reacted on pure instinct—there’d been no time to think at all.
“I’m sorry.” Qin Sizheng lowered his head and admitted his mistake obediently. Seeing Lu Xianqing raise his hand, his reflex was to shut his eyes and wait for a slap to land.
“Open your mouth.”
“Huh?” Qin Sizheng opened his mouth without thinking, and a fruit candy was popped inside.
Lu Xianqing casually brushed his thumb across his lips and stuffed the candy wrapper into his hand. Candy given—now came the scolding. He said coldly, “Is it my fault for standing behind you? You beat me up just for that? So from now on, does that mean I can’t greet you from behind? Once this show’s over, do I have to keep a three-meter safety distance when talking to you, or book an appointment ten days in advance?”
Qin Sizheng shook his head furiously. “That’s not what I meant!”
“Am I really that scary? When Xu Jinhang talks to you, does he lay hands on you? And just now, that Jiang—” Lu Xianqing paused.
“Jiang Zhen,” Qin Sizheng hurried to fill in.
“When Jiang Zhen talks to you, do you hit him? I saw you two pulling weeds together, chatting and laughing just fine. What, so you like me that much?” Lu Xianqing fired off three questions in a row.
Afraid of saying the wrong thing, Qin Sizheng didn’t answer. He thought to himself: Senior Xu never touched him physically, and Jiang Zhen didn’t do anything to him either. Why would he hit them?
If Lu Xianqing hadn’t suddenly touched his neck, he wouldn’t have been hit either. Qin Sizheng muttered softly, “If you hadn’t suddenly grabbed my neck, I wouldn’t have hit you. This was already light—if it were before, I’d have broken three of his bones.”
Lu Xianqing didn’t hear clearly. “What are you muttering about?”
Qin Sizheng shook his head at lightning speed. “Um—are you hurting anywhere? I can massage it for you.” The time they’d run into each other at the gym, the hit to the brow bone had actually been worse than this. Back then, Lu Xianqing had just had him rub it a bit and let it go. This time… he probably wouldn’t hold a grudge, right?
Lu Xianqing was a little surprised. He hadn’t even brought it up yet, and this kid had already sold himself out.
“No.”
When Qin Sizheng heard the refusal, he clenched his teeth and escalated. “Then hit me back? I promise I won’t fight back this time! If that’s still not enough, you can tie my hands up and hit me however you want.”
Lu Xianqing thought to himself: Don’t rush. That day will come.
“You think I’m like you? Only know how to hit people.” Lu Xianqing snorted, letting out a low breath to ease the pain in his back. His wrist felt like it was about to snap from being twisted earlier—luckily the kid hadn’t treated him like a punching bag and kicked him too, or he’d really be dead.
Qin Sizheng felt wronged. He hadn’t done it on purpose. “Then what do you want me to do so you won’t be mad? I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Whatever I say?” Lu Xianqing repeated. Lowering his eyes, he said quietly, “I can’t think of anything right now. I’ll tell you when I do. When that time comes, I name the condition. No disobeying.”
Qin Sizheng didn’t notice he’d fallen straight into a trap and nodded immediately.
Lu Xianqing thought: How is this kid so easy to trick? What if I tell you to come with me?
Would you give yourself to me too?
“Come on, pinky swear.” Lu Xianqing held out his hand. Qin Sizheng blinked, then hooked pinkies with him. This guy really was like a kid—always wanting to pinky swear. Even Little Tomato didn’t do that anymore. It wasn’t like he’d go back on his word.
Qin Sizheng complained inwardly for a bit, until Lu Xianqing pulled his hand free and held it out in front of him. “Go on. Massage.”
His wrist was red from being twisted, and his palm was scraped from instinctively bracing himself when he hit the ground. Qin Sizheng cupped his hand in both of his own and gently kneaded it, meticulously working from each finger bone to the palm and then the back of the hand.
After a while, he tested the waters and called out, “Fourth Brother?”
“Speak.”
“Why did you suddenly come back?” Qin Sizheng asked. “Weren’t you taking Little Tangyuan to watch the performance? It shouldn’t have ended yet.” If not for that, he wouldn’t have accidentally hurt him. In the end, it was still his own fault.
Lu Xianqing was enjoying the massage. His voice sounded like that of a sated beast—lazy, languid, and content.
“Something came up at Little Tangyuan’s home, so he was picked up. And also, the first recording session already ended. Didn’t you notice everyone had left?”
Qin Sizheng instinctively turned his head. Sure enough, the crew was packing up their equipment. He wasn’t sensitive to cameras and never chased shots; he’d been too busy spending Children’s Day with Little Tomato and the other kids. He hadn’t even heard Chen Yue tell him they’d stopped filming.
“Then… Fourth Brother.”
“Mm?”
“I…” Qin Sizheng hesitated.
Lu Xianqing knew exactly what he wanted to ask, but deliberately didn’t answer, forcing him to say it all out loud, watching him grow flustered and shy.
Qin Sizheng gritted his teeth. With his ears burning red, he asked in a low voice, “When I hit you… was it still being filmed? Do you know when they stopped recording? Um…”
“Afraid people will find out?” Lu Xianqing reached out and clasped his fingers, slipping smoothly between them and tightening the hold.
Qin Sizheng was too nervous to notice. He nodded lightly, eyes wide like a startled fawn. He’d completely forgotten he’d just beaten someone up and was already putting on a pitiful look.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Lu Xianqing said softly. “Don’t be afraid.”
Qin Sizheng shook his head. He wasn’t afraid of people knowing he’d beaten up Si Qianqiu last night, but Lu Xianqing was different. “No… I’m worried that if people see you getting hit, it’ll be embarrassing for you. Maybe I should go ask Chen Yue whether it was recorded. If it was, I’ll find a way to explain it.”
Lu Xianqing hadn’t expected that to be what he was worried about. He hooked Qin Sizheng’s hand and pulled him back, placing his other hand against Qin Sizheng’s forehead.
“Trust me. Even if something happens, don’t be afraid. I’ll handle it.”
Qin Sizheng finally relaxed, but then quickly looked up at him again. “Fourth Brother, next time… could you call me first before you touch me? I’m afraid I might—”
“Yan Yan.”
“Huh?”
Lu Xianqing pinched his finger bones, the look in his eyes cold and heavy. “Was the candy good?”
“It was good.” Qin Sizheng didn’t understand why he was asking. He had a vague sense that Lu Xianqing wasn’t really talking about the candy at all, but something deeper and more dangerous.
“Remember to share some with me next time.” Lu Xianqing stared at the slight bulge of Qin Sizheng’s cheek as he sucked on the candy, hunger flickering in his gaze, as if he wanted to bite right there. His fingers kept rubbing and pressing against Qin Sizheng’s knuckles until it actually hurt.
“That hurts.” Qin Sizheng instinctively pulled his hand back.
Lu Xianqing looked at the reddened spot where he’d pinched him. “Don’t say it hurts. Endure it.”
He would react.
When Qin Sizheng said “it hurts” in that faint, almost-crying tone, Lu Xianqing couldn’t help wanting to make it hurt even more. For safety’s sake, Qin Sizheng was better off enduring it quietly—no complaints.
“Sizheng!”
Qin Sizheng turned his head. Xu Zhao was waving at him from not far away. That sensation vanished in an instant, like falling from the clouds back onto solid ground, reality rushing in.
This period of filming had made him incredibly tense. He was constantly afraid of doing something wrong here or there, wound tight and unable to relax—more nervous than he’d ever been stepping into a competition ring. Especially after Lu Xianqing showed up, he felt even more at a loss.
“Fourth Brother, I need to talk to you about something.” The director walked over, nodded to Qin Sizheng with a smile, and said, “You’ve worked hard these past few days. Go back and get some good rest. See you again in a week.”
Qin Sizheng hurriedly replied, “No, no, you’ve worked hard.”
Xu Zhao was waiting by the car. Qin Sizheng walked over and was just about to get in when he suddenly remembered something—but then he caught sight of Jiang Zhen standing beside the director, smiling gently as he chatted. Lu Xianqing was standing next to him. Qin Sizheng instantly calmed down.
The main character shou had appeared. Lu Xianqing, the main character gong, would naturally be leaving with him. As a cannon-fodder side character, there was no need for Qin Sizheng to worry so much.
Xu Zhao’s uniquely sharp, triangular eyes gleamed as he stared at Qin Sizheng, making the hairs on his neck stand up. “Was my performance not good? It’s fine, just say it—I can take it!”
“You’ve really made something of yourself. Really made something of yourself!!”
?
Xu Zhao’s grin nearly split his face. In the footage that had aired these past few days, Qin Sizheng came across as a sincere, sunlit youth—every word and action like an unbreakable sunflower. He was nothing like the boy Xu Zhao remembered, who’d always been filled with resentment.
“I’m telling you, just from the first episode of this variety show alone, you’ve hit the trending searches thirteen times!”
“Every time you appear, the view count goes through the roof!”
Qin Sizheng panicked a little. Was he about to get torn apart by criticism again?
Xu Zhao’s voice was trembling. “But it’s almost all positive. The bullet comments are harsh, sure, but the polarization is strong too—and you’re clearly gaining fans! Everyone’s calling you the group darling of the show! I never taught you this, yet you figured out how to win over fans on your own. Being down-to-earth is what people really like. I can die happy now.”
Qin Sizheng didn’t quite understand how he’d managed it, but from Xu Zhao’s tone it sounded like a good thing, so he smiled immediately.
Xu Zhao went on, “Still, you handled things really well. Lu Xianqing scolded you like that on the show and you didn’t flip out—that’s exactly right. Endure it for now and everything stays calm. He won’t be back next episode anyway.”
Qin Sizheng was puzzled. When had Fourth Brother scolded him?
Xu Zhao added, “Lu Xianqing is a film actor. He only came on this variety show as a favor because of his relationship with Xu Jinhang. You won’t have much contact with him in the future. It’s not a big deal—don’t panic.”
Qin Sizheng couldn’t help wanting to roll his eyes. Not a big deal? Don’t panic?
That was exactly what Xu Zhao had said last time too. And what happened? Lu Xianqing came straight onto the show. Was this man’s mouth blessed or cursed?
Qin Sizheng looked at his phone’s lock screen—the photo of him holding a sign that read Cherish Life, Stay Away from Lu Xianqing. It felt like he’d just written it, yet more than a month had already passed.
Xu Zhao thought he was feeling down and quickly tried to reassure him. “I guarantee it—over the next three years, you probably won’t have any intersection with him at all.”
Qin Sizheng laughed. “You said that last time too.”
Xu Zhao coughed awkwardly. “Kid, why do you have to expose people like that? Last time was an accident—who could’ve predicted Xu Jinhang getting injured? But look at it this way: that incident alone helped you rake in so many fans. A blessing in disguise. And this time, you really did perform well. I’ll find a way later to talk things out with Fourth Brother’s team and ease the tension between you two.”
“N-no need, right?” Qin Sizheng really didn’t want any more entanglement with him. Three years of peace sounded perfect.
Besides, now that Jiang Zhen had appeared, he wanted even less to be involved with those two “main characters.” He didn’t want to become a test of someone else’s romance. He just wanted to live quietly and find a way home.
—
After finishing his discussion with the director, Jiang Zhen casually asked, “Fourth Brother, did Sister He Xing arrange someone to pick you up? If not, would you like to leave in my car? I don’t have many people with me—it’s pretty quiet.”
Lu Xianqing’s gaze fell on a car not far away. He walked past Jiang Zhen without looking at him. “No need.”
Jiang Zhen smiled patiently. “My car’s quite spacious, and my assistant does massages. She could help you loosen up your shoulders and rest a bit—it’d be good for relaxing your nerves.”
Lu Xianqing halted, turned back, and looked at him. “I said no need. Do you not understand? I said get lost. Clear enough?”
Jiang Zhen’s face went pale, the words choking him silent. But he quickly recovered his gentle smile. In his previous life, Lu Xianqing had been like this too—cold to him, even fiercer than this. Loving him had been painful; he’d been worn down by Lu Xianqing’s world-weariness until his heart was exhausted, yet he still couldn’t let go. It had taken everything he had to finally pull Lu Xianqing back into the human world.
In this lifetime, he did not want to go through those torments again. Lu Xianqing should only ever be an aid to him, not a trial.
He was a stepping stone—
the stair that would let him reap both fame and fortune.
—
Xu Zhao sighed for a long while, his eyes suddenly turning a little red. He reached out and patted the teenager on the shoulder. “You’ve lost weight, and you’re darker too. You’ve worked hard these days. When you get home, make sure you eat well and recover. You have no idea—back then…”
The moment Qin Sizheng heard the words back then, his head started to ache. He immediately cut him off. “Right—didn’t you say I could just go back with Jiang Xi? Why did you still come over? Are you done with everything?”
Xu Zhao gave an “oh” and smoothly followed his lead. “Those few are well-behaved, not like you. You always make me worry. I wake up in the middle of the night and still have to check the trending searches to see whether you’ve gone and done something again. If you were even half as trouble-free as they are, I could die with my eyes closed.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xi hurried to smooth things over. “He’s been really well-behaved lately. He hasn’t made a single mistake.”
Qin Sizheng thought about it and still felt he should report it to Xu Zhao. “Actually… I did make a little mistake. I hit Si Qianqiu.”
“You hit him? Who did you hit?” Xu Zhao’s voice cracked. He grabbed Qin Sizheng’s arm. “What do you mean you hit him? Hit him how? Wait—he said the injury on his face this morning was from bumping into something. That was you?”
Qin Sizheng nodded cautiously and explained the whole sequence of events. Xu Zhao fell silent for a long moment. “…Alright. Don’t panic yet. I’ll figure out a way to handle it. We’ll talk it through when we get back to the company.”
Jiang Xi looked at one, then the other, when something suddenly occurred to him. He yelped, “Ah!” and pulled out an envelope. “Oh right, Brother Xu—during this program, we received five text messages in total, and also one handwritten letter. I think this sasaeng might actually be someone from the production crew.”
Xu Zhao hadn’t even recovered from the first blow when another one slammed straight into his head. He snatched the letter, and after reading it, his scalp practically exploded. “Which animal sent you this kind of thing?! And had the nerve to send it during the program? Call the police! We have to deal with this seriously! Damn it, sasaengs are getting more and more out of control these days. Last time there was even one who followed a car and caused an accident. People like this should all be locked up!”
Qin Sizheng asked, “Did you find out who in the crew can write in Slender Gold Script? And when the texts came in, was anyone using their phone?”
Jiang Xi said, “I asked around. It seems no one in the crew knows Slender Gold Script, and even if someone did, they could deliberately avoid it—there’s no way to be sure. As for the texts, they usually came at night. Even though phones were supposedly collected at first, people in the crew still get to use them, and everyone has more than one phone. It’s really hard to trace.”
Xu Zhao knew perfectly well this wasn’t a matter of not knowing—it was that even if someone knew, they wouldn’t dare say anything. People in this industry were all shrewd as monkeys. If there was any chance of offending someone, no one would speak honestly. Saying “I don’t know” to everything was the safest way to protect oneself.
“Alright. Leave this to me. Once we’re back, we’ll report it to the police and have them investigate. We must send him to prison! Let him understand the seriousness of the law. Sick bastard!”
Knock, knock.
Xu Zhao was speaking as he turned to look out the window and nearly bit his tongue. He hurriedly rolled the window down. “Fourth Brother, is something the matter?”
“Is it convenient? I’ll go with you.”
How could Xu Zhao dare say it wasn’t? He immediately got out of the car and said obsequiously, “Convenient, convenient. Please.”
Lu Xianqing got into the car and glanced at Qin Sizheng. The latter reacted as if shocked by electricity. “F-Fourth Brother.”
“Cherish life, stay away from Lu Xianqing.” The low voice spoke. Qin Sizheng froze, then followed his gaze—on his phone screen wallpaper were eight big characters, unmistakably those very words.
Lu Xianqing let out a cold laugh. “So staying away from me is what makes life beautiful? As long as I’m here, your life isn’t beautiful? Should I leave?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Qin Sizheng didn’t know how to explain it to him. In the end, he just pressed his lips together and said nothing, looking like a kid who’d done something wrong, occasionally sneaking glances at him.
Jiang Xi asked, “Are we leaving?”
Xu Zhao didn’t dare decide on his own either and hurriedly asked, “Fourth Brother, shall we go now?”
Lu Xianqing gave a brief “mm.” His mood was clearly not good. Qin Sizheng could understand why he was angry—anyone would be upset if told that their presence ruined someone’s life.
Qin Sizheng typed a message to Xu Zhao on his phone: Do you have any candy?
Xu Zhao found it odd—he was right there in the car, why was he texting? Still, he turned around and handed him a small packet of candy he’d brought to keep himself awake while driving.
Qin Sizheng took one piece, bit his lip, and looked at Lu Xianqing. He quickly reached out—and then pulled his hand back.
Lu Xianqing looked at the red fruit candy resting on the back of his hand, then turned his head to look at that sunflower. Right now it looked a little wilted, pitiful in a way that was exactly like “Yanyan.”
“It’s strawberry-flavored. Very sweet. Try it.”
Lu Xianqing unwrapped it and put it into his mouth. The fresh sweetness spread across his tongue. Looking at Qin Sizheng’s nervous expression, he said, “Not sweet enough.”
If it had been fed to him by hand, it probably would have been sweeter.
Qin Sizheng’s phone vibrated. He lowered his head to look, and his pupils shrank instantly.
Reflexively, he flipped the phone face-down. The movement was big enough that Xu Zhao noticed. “What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing.”
That person had sent another text.
This one was more explicit than any before, carrying a hint of threat, as if he were always right by his side—like a ghost clinging to his back.
—Your hand is so soft. When you touched me, I almost got hard. There were too many people here, though. Otherwise I would definitely have entered you and torn you apart.
—You look so good when you eat candy, your tongue curling around it, wrapping and sucking. How about ice cream next time? Slowly licking it with your tongue, the melting cream smearing all over your chin, making you filthy so I can lick you clean.
—I really want to keep you. You’d be like a dirty little dog in my cage, waiting for me to dote on you, only recognizing me as your master.
Qin Sizheng’s breathing went ragged, veins bulging on his clenched fists.
He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt unbearably wronged. He had been competing perfectly well, only to suddenly be thrown into a trashy, abandoned novel and turned into this lunatic’s target.
He missed the orphanage terribly—missed the aunties, missed the younger brothers and sisters. He didn’t want to stay in this rotten world anymore.
He did not want to bear any of the mess that “Qin Sizheng” had left behind.
Pervert! Freak!
Why was this person targeting him with messages like that? What had he ever done to provoke him? He really wanted to shout—come out! Get out here!
But this person was like a ghost, clinging relentlessly yet refusing to show himself. It was as if he were night-blind in total darkness—he knew someone was there, but could not see them at all.
He clenched his hand tightly, fear and panic welling up.
Suddenly, a hand was extended toward him, warm and dependable. Qin Sizheng looked up and met Lu Xianqing’s gaze, as well as those clean, beautiful hands.
In the palm lay a piece of candy.
Qin Sizheng jerked his eyes up to Lu Xianqing’s dark pupils. His heart jolted hard, and he hastily looked away.
Lu Xianqing suddenly smiled. “What? Staying away from me—so now you won’t even take my candy?”
Qin Sizheng quickly took the candy, unwrapped it, and put it into his mouth. The fresh sweetness dissolved that small knot of grievance in his chest. He wasn’t afraid at all. If that pervert dared to show up, he’d beat him to death!
Well—half to death would do. He didn’t want to go to prison.
Watching the little kid beside him cycle through expressions at lightning speed, Lu Xianqing’s lips curved slightly. If one day he found out that the person sending those messages was actually himself, would he be so scared that he’d never dare see him again—or eat his candy again?
Better not let him know.
Xu Zhao had taken time to watch the livestream, but that was all just program effect. He couldn’t quite figure out what Lu Xianqing was really thinking, so he probed quietly. “Fourth Brother, didn’t He Xing come to pick you up?”
“Mm. He had other things to deal with. Do you feel it’s inconvenient for me to ride with you?”
Xu Zhao hurriedly replied, “Of course not! Little Qin even said just now that he wanted to invite you to come with us. He’s your fan—watches your movies at home every day, totally obsessed. He told me he was excited to death about recording a program with you this time.”
Qin Sizheng: “?”
Lu Xianqing turned his head, smiling with a hooked corner of his mouth. “Is that so?”
Seeing an opening, Xu Zhao pressed on, steering Qin Sizheng firmly into the “fan” lane. Even if he couldn’t make their relationship amazing, at least they shouldn’t end up as rivals. How could a thin arm twist a thick thigh?
“Little Qin even has your movie posters up at home. He says the actor he admires most in his life is you. He hopes that one day he can work with you. He really likes you—he even said he wanted your autograph, but never had the chance.”
Qin Sizheng: “?”
When did he like Lu Xianqing? When did he say he wanted an autograph?
Oh—no, wait. Liking Lu Xianqing was true. That was all the original owner’s doing. Not only did he like him, he even used props to… play with himself? Drilled holes? Hid a whole stash of his personal items.
Lu Xianqing turned to look at the boy beside him, who was shaking his head frantically with a that’s not me, I didn’t say that, don’t talk nonsense expression, and suddenly smiled. “You like me that much? Hm?”
Qin Sizheng had no way to explain his suffering and said, aggrieved, “I like you. I do.”